After a few weeks’ delay from the originally scheduled date, Babbo officially reopens today, Monday, October 27, at 110 Waverly Place, at Macdougal Street, in Greenwich Village, reviving one of New York’s most famous Italian restaurants. Now under the ownership of Stephen Starr and Starr Restaurants (Le Coucou, Buddakan), the relaunch brings back chef Mark Ladner, who worked in Babbo and Lupa before leading Del Posto, which earned four stars from The New York Times (and two Michelin stars in its early days). The opening comes with no shortage of drama.
Babbo is one of the most anticipated restaurant relaunches, in part because of a dramatic mix of storylines surrounding it. An extremely big deal restaurateur hires one of the city’s best Italian chefs, who has been out of the New York mix following the short fuse of his ambitious fast-casual pasta restaurant, Pasta Flyer (which was too early for its time). Babbo, as it were, had been a neighborhood gem under a restaurant group that came crashing down with the Mario Batali and Spotted Pig scandals, with Batali stepping away from the restaurants in 2017. More recently, Scabby the union rat has threatened to lead a picket line of a few protestors holding “BOYCOTT BABBO” signs, as a few did before the restaurant’s opening, because of unionization efforts and alleged labor law violations in D.C.
For his part, Ladner focuses on what’s coming out of the kitchen, which includes some of the restaurant’s classics and a few new dishes. “I was inspired by what I call 22 distinct regions,” Ladner said via a press release, “the 20 regions that comprise Italy, plus two regions for the old and the new Babbo, to honor the restaurant’s own history.”
Crudi trio as a starter at Babbo. Colin Clark
Sputini trio. Colin Clark
The menu starts with a choice of a fin fish ($39) or shellfish ($42) crudi trio; an antipasti selection that lists warm escarole salad ($24), lamb’s tongue ($28), or sweetbreads ($28). A 49-day minestrone ($22) tops the primi options, along with respun classics like the 100-layer lasagne Detroit-style for four for $100, for which the deep-dish edges are crisped up during baking. Beef-cheek ravioli ($45) is also a pasta option, while veal osso buco ($76) and grilled squab with grapes and hazelnuts ($58) fall among the secondi offerings. The $18 desserts stray from Italian American classics to include zabaglione with sour cherries; its famous saffron panna cotta with gigante raisins; as well as a blueberry blue cheese budino, among other desserts.
The space has been updated by Gachot, behind Pebble Bar and Jac’s on Bond interiors, with red walls upstairs and restored leather banquettes. Babbo’s signature wine list and cellar remain intact, along with its deep Champagne selection and expanded cocktail bar. Ladner’s partner Tizzy Beck, the “personality powerhouse” formerly of the Waverly Inn, manages the service.
Gnocchi at Babbo. Colin Clark
The inflatable union rat — on track to make an appearance outside the restaurant tonight, according to a United Here 25 email — will have come up from D.C., where activists have pushed to unionize workers and filed complaints against Starr with the National Labor Relations Board over alleged labor law violations at three of his biggest D.C. restaurants: Starr’s nearly two-year-old French bistro Pastis, seven-year-old steakhouse St. Anselm, and Le Diplomate, Starr’s perennially packed brasserie on 14th Street since 2013.(The original NY locations are not involved in unionization efforts.)
Meanwhile, D.C. workers allegedly protesting the unionization efforts have created a website called Serving the Truth, where they write that “union interest among workers in three of the four restaurants is so low that Unite Here Local 25 has never even asked for a vote. But Unite Here Local 25 continues to push a false story.” Eater has followed up with a Starr spokesperson for a comment on the union’s appearance at tonight’s opening.
Reservations for Babbo are available on Resy for seats Sunday to Thursday until 10 p.m. and Saturday until 11 p.m. It’s likely to be a lively opening week.
Mark Ladner outside Babbo. Colin Clark